Founded under the leadership of Selçuk Bayraktar and Haluk Bayraktar, the Turkish Technology Team Foundation, or T3 for short, organizes Teknofest, an aviation, space and technology festival, every year together with the Ministry of Industry and Technology. At the event, which showed up in Samsun this year and started as of today, some critical statements were made about the engine for MİUS- Bayraktar Kızılelma from the Baykar front.
Engine has been supplied for Bayraktar Kızılelma!
Baykar Defense Technical Manager Selçuk Bayraktar, who participated in Teknofest today, answered questions from journalists. Here, he was asked how the planned engine procurement process for Bayraktar Kızılelma would work if the war between Ukraine and Russia continued.
Selçuk Bayraktar, on the other hand, said that Ukraine has already delivered a large number of engines and this process continues without any interruption. In addition, it is known that Ukrainian Ivchenko delivered AI-450C engines for Akıncı B, and even these versions were included in the TAF inventory.
Teknofest excitement has begun! What awaits us?
Organized every year, Teknofest met with interested visitors in Samsun this year as well. In addition, many competitors rolled up their sleeves.
Therefore, Bayraktar Kızılelma prototypes and mass production models will be developed in accordance with the plan without any engine supply problems. It is also stated that it will make its first flight in the first quarter of 2023 and will be able to land and take off from TCG Anadolu when it enters the inventory in 2025.
In addition, Bayraktar Kızılelma will appear in at least 3 versions with different abilities, A, B and C, as in Akıncı. AI-25TLT (16.5 kN) and AI-322F (41 kN), which are AI-25 variants produced by Ivchenko, will be used in these vehicles.
It is stated that 4 prototypes will be produced in total. These will be 1 AI-25TLT Red Apple-A, 1 AI-322F Red Apple-B and 2 AI-322F Red Apple-C. There is a claim that more than 20 engines have been delivered so far.
In addition, there are some studies to return to the domestic engine in the future, just like the Bayraktar TB2 models. In fact, versions of the TEI-TF6000 turbofan engine produced by TEI with thrust power of 6,000 lbf (26.5 kN) and then 10,000 lbf (44.5 kN) will be tested with Kızılelma.
Critical statement from Haluk Bayraktar: It will replace the F-16!
Baykar Defense General Manager Haluk Bayraktar, who answered the questions of the journalists at the beginning of the event, said that Bayraktar Kızılelma/MİUS could replace the F-16 jets with its entry into the inventory in the next period.
When we look at the first data shared for Bayraktar Kızılelma, we see that a very promising prototype will appear. Because this aircraft will bring with it some innovations that we saw in the F-16 and F-35, as well as the artificial intelligence features of TB2 and Akıncı. It will also have high maneuverability compared to SİHAs. However, it should be noted that this does not mean that he can do dog fights with F-16s.
It is planned that the first models to be included in the inventory will accelerate to Subsonic, that is, 800+km. In the future, it is quite possible that we will see transonic (1000+ km/h) and supersonic (1200+ km/h) models. In addition, it will be able to land and take off on the TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship, where the TB3s will also be used, that it will have the AESA radar used in the F-16s, and that it will have a low radar appearance by carrying ammunition in the fuselage like the F-35 (also thanks to the materials and paint used in its construction). Let’s say too.
Bayraktar KIZILELMA will be able to communicate with new generation warplanes (F-35 and MMU/TFX), unmanned aerial vehicles (such as TB2- Akıncı, Anka and AKSUNGUR) and intelligence units (AWACS aircraft). Therefore, he will be able to move and hit the targets they see as if he sees them himself. Their primary mission will be air-to-land. Of course, it will also carry air-to-air ammunition. However, this feature is expected to be used not against warplanes, but against UAV-SİHA-TİHA and helicopter-like aircraft.
To put it briefly, Bayraktar KIZILELMA (MIUS) will be able to take off with F-16s until the MMU (National Combat Aircraft) is produced, and then with MMUs after it is produced. Sometimes he will take on their costly operations, and sometimes he will go on secret intelligence missions. When deemed necessary, it will be able to destroy all kinds of targets with a wide range of ammunition (14+) it can carry.
For this reason, it is estimated that it will be a better alternative to F-16s and F-35s than Akıncı and Hürjet in many air-to-ground scenarios. However, it seems that they will not be able to replace them in air-to-air missions, at least for now. Of course, if transonic and supersonic models are developed, it can push the limits known with the experience gained until then.
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